The controversial comments by Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on the “47 percent” of Americans who do not pay taxes (which is itself not exactly true) have been the talk of political observers over the past day.

Asked about the video at a news conference on prison reform in Albuquerque, Martinez said New Mexico has a lot of people at the poverty level.

“But they count just as much as anybody else,” she said.

The state has a strong safety net for those at or below the poverty level, and “that safety net is a good thing,” the governor said.

Martinez is a very popular first-term governor in New Mexico and cited by many as a rising star in the Republican Party.

The Democratic Party of New Mexico responded to Martinez’s comments.

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez quickly attempted to distance herself from her Party’s presidential nominee, Gov. Mitt Romney ‘s”47%” moment today. But she is conveniently forgetting her very own record – or lack thereof – on creating jobs here at home in NM, refusing to expand medicaid or help the NM education system. With 22% of our state living below the poverty line, this is more of the same rhetoric from Gov. Martinez, and it once again fails to match her own record and actions when it comes to bringing opportunity to all New Mexicans.

The progressive news source Talking Points Memo says that Martinez piled on to the criticism of Romney.

A Martinez spokesman said that she may campaign in Nevada and Florida, but since New Mexico is not on the radar of either campaign as a swing state, voters in New Mexico may not see Martinez and Romney onstage together in a rally in Albuquerque any time soon.

Matthew Reichbach has blogged about New Mexico politics since 2006. Matthew was a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and part of the original hirings at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation.
In addition to politics, Matthew is an avid sports fan, especially of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and TV fan.